Friday, 9 December 2011

migrain

Assalamualaikum wrt.

Today,I would like to talk or discuss..what is migraine?

A migraine is a severe, painful headachethat is often preceded or accompanied by sensory warning signs such as flashes of light, blind spots, tingling in the arms and legs, nausea, vomiting, and increased sensitivity to light and sound. The excruciating pain that migraines bring can last for hours or even days.

Migraine headaches result from a combination of blood vessel enlargement and the release of chemicals from nerve fibers that coil around these blood vessels. During the headache, an artery enlarges that is located on the outside of the skull just under the skin of the temple (temporal artery). This causes a release of chemicals that cause inflammation, pain, and further enlargement of the artery.

A migraine headache causes the sympathetic nervous system to respond with feelings of nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting. This response also delays the emptying of the stomach into the small intestine (affecting food absorption), decreases blood circulation (leading to cold hands and feet), and increases sensitivity to light and sound.

More than 28 million Americans suffer from migraine headaches, and females are much more likely to get them than males.

What causes migraines?

Some people who suffer from migraines can clearly identify triggers or factors that cause the headaches, but many cannot. Potential migraine triggers include:

Triggers do not always cause migraines, and avoiding triggers does not always prevent migraines.

What are the symptoms of migraine?

Symptoms of migraine can occur a while before the headache, immediately before the headache, during the headache, and after the headache. Although not all migraines are the same, typical symptoms include:

Moderate to severe pain, usually confined to one side of the head, but switching in successive migraines

Pulsing and throbbing head pain

Increasing pain during physical activity

Inability to perform regular activities due to pain

Nausea

Vomiting

Increased sensitivity to light and sound

Many people experience migraines with auras just before or during the head pain, but most do not. Auras are perceptual disturbances such as confusing thoughts or experiences and the perception of strange lights, sparkling or flashing lights, lines in the visual field, blind spots, pins and needles in an arm or leg, or unpleasant smells.

Migraine sufferers also may have premonitions called prodrome that can occur several hours or a day or so before the headache. These premonitions may consist of feelings of elation or intense energy, cravings for sweets, thirst, drowsiness, irritability, or depression.

How is migraine diagnosed?

Physicians will look at family medical history and check the patient for the symptoms described above in order to diagnose migraine. The International Headache Society recommends the "5, 4, 3, 2, 1 criteria" to diagnose migraines without aura. This stands for:

5 or more attacks

4 hours to 3 days in duration

At least 2 of unilateral location, pulsating quality, moderate to severe pain, aggravation by or avoidance of routine physical activity

At least 1 additional symptom such as nausea, vomiting, sensitivity to light, sensitivity to sound.

Tests such as electroencephalography (EEG), computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and spinal tap may also be performed that check for:

How is migraine treated and prevented?

Migraine treatment (abortive therapies) and prevention (prophylactic therapies) focus on avoiding triggers, controlling symptoms, and taking medicines. Over-the-counter medications such as naproxen, ibuprofen, acetaminophen (paracetamol), and other analgesics like Excedrin(aspirin with caffeine) are often the first abortive therapies to eliminate the headache or substantially reduce pain. Anti-emetics may also be employed to control symptoms such as nausea and vomiting.

Serotonin agonists such as sumatriptan may also be prescribed for severe migraines or for migraines that are not responding to the over-the-counter medications. Similarly, some selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) - antidepressants such as tricyclics - are prescribed to reduce migraine symptoms although they are not approved in all countries for this purpose.

Another class of abortive treatments are called ergots, which are usually effective if administered at the first sign of migraine. Other drugs have also been used to treat migraine such as combinations of barbituates, paracetamol or aspirin, and caffeine (Fioricet or Fiorinal) and combinations of acetaminophen, dichloralphenazone, and isometheptene (Amidrine, Duadrin, and Midrin). If vomiting makes drugs difficult to ingest, anti-emetics will be prescribed.

Migraine prevention begins with avoiding things that trigger the condition. The main goals of prophylactic therapies are to reduce the frequency, painfulness, and duration of migraine headaches and to increase the effectiveness of abortive therapies. There are several categories of preventive migraine medicine, ranging from diet changes and exercise to prescription drugs. Some of these include: